Convert between feet + inches, centimeters, meters, and millimeters. Includes height comparison chart, famous heights reference, and feet-to-cm lookup table.
The feet-and-inches system is the standard way to express height in the United States, and it is used informally in several other English-speaking countries. However, most of the world uses centimeters and meters. Converting between the two is non-trivial because feet-and-inches is a mixed unit — you must handle the feet and the inches separately.
This converter accepts input as feet + inches (separate fields), pure centimeters, millimeters, decimal inches, or meters. It outputs all of these plus a combined feet-and-inches display, decimal feet, yards, and kilometers. Height presets from 4′ 0″ to 6′ 6″ make it quick to check common human heights.
The height comparison chart shows how your value stacks up against famous reference heights from Danny DeVito (150 cm) to Yao Ming (229 cm), and the feet-to-cm lookup table provides a quick reference for 13 common heights. Whether you are filling out a medical form, buying clothes from an international retailer, or just curious how tall you are in metric, this tool has you covered.
Height in feet-and-inches is a mixed unit that makes metric conversion confusing. This tool handles the math for you and provides a visual comparison against known heights plus a quick-reference table, so forms, shopping measurements, and medical records are easier to complete accurately across unit systems in schools, clinics, and global ecommerce workflows.
Total inches = (feet × 12) + inches Centimeters = total inches × 2.54 Meters = centimeters ÷ 100
Result: 177.8 cm / 1.778 m
5′ 10″ = 70 inches × 2.54 = 177.8 cm = 1.778 m. This is the average height of a US adult male.
Feet-and-inches is a mixed-radix system: 12 inches make 1 foot. When you say "5 feet 10 inches," you mean 5 × 12 + 10 = 70 inches total. To convert to metric, multiply total inches by 2.54 to get centimeters. The extra step of separating feet and inches makes this conversion error-prone without a calculator.
Average adult height varies significantly by country. The Netherlands has the tallest average (183.8 cm for men), while countries in Southeast Asia average around 162 cm for men. International height data is always in centimeters, making conversion essential for comparison.
US medical records increasingly use centimeters alongside feet-inches. The FAA requires pilot height in inches for medical certificates. International flight physicals use centimeters. Being able to convert accurately between the systems is important for healthcare, sports physicals, and professional requirements.
170.18 cm. (5 × 12 + 7) × 2.54 = 67 × 2.54 = 170.18.
170 ÷ 2.54 = 66.93 inches. 66 ÷ 12 = 5 feet remainder 6.93 inches ≈ 5′ 7″.
Slightly above average in the US (average is 5′ 9″ / 175.3 cm), but above average globally (171 cm).
182.88 cm. 72 inches × 2.54 = 182.88.
Robert Wadlow at 8′ 11.1″ (272 cm). He grew continuously until his death in 1940 at age 22.
The US adopted the British imperial system and never fully transitioned to metric. Height in feet-inches persists culturally even though metric is used in science and medicine.